With 20,000 lights strung across the front of his property, Jonathan Christian is lighting up his community with the story of Jesus.
Following the challenges of the past year, Mr Christian decided to bring some joy to his neighbourhood. In November he spent nearly 50 hours installing lights across the front of his Cooranbong (North New South Wales) home and over several structures and surrounding trees.
The display includes a life-sized nativity scene, which Mr Christian constructed with the help of his friend Trent Keegan, an Avondale University theology student. Going one step further to share the story of Jesus, Mr Christian installed a box in front of the property where free literature is available, including two tracts, “What’s the Glory in the Christmas Story?” and “Finding Hope in an Uncertain World”, and Discover Jesus books.
About 200 people visited Mr Christian’s display on the “big switch on” night, December 1, and many more have visited since then. He is unsure how much of the free literature has been taken, but he has had to restock the box a few times.
“This is a great opportunity to build bridges with the people in the neighbourhood and those from further away,” said Mr Christian, who is a member of Hilllview Adventist Church.
“Each night the lights come on at 8pm for two hours, and visitors can walk around the display or view it from the roadside. You won’t find any blow-up Santas in this display. Both the display and the music are unashamedly Christian and many people have commented on this, and I have heard lots of children say, ‘Can I have a photo with baby Jesus?’ to their parents.
“It’s only a small thing but hopefully it has a big impact as people take the literature and are prompted to think about the real meaning of Christmas.”
The life-sized nativity scene. 
The box where the free literature is available.
